In Russia, tension rises as three people prepare for what appears to be a bank heist. A film for Amnesty International.
The Robbery is an intense and emotional short film set in Russia, where three individuals ready themselves for what seems to be a high-stakes bank heist. However, beneath the surface of this seemingly straightforward scenario lies a complex and poignant narrative that transcends the heist itself.
Created in collaboration with Amnesty International, The Robbery serves as a cinematic expression of solidarity for those impacted by the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and Russia. Director Andrew De Zen (Let This Feeling Go, Of Woods and Seas, The Wall) channels the collective emotions of rage, grief, and defiance shared by those caught in the crossfire of war, crafting a powerful story that speaks to the resilience of the human spirit amidst turmoil.
The film builds tension through the anticipation of a bank heist. Can you share how you used pacing and suspense to engage the audience?
We knew the whole film depended on the setup within the car. I spent a long time thinking about what it would feel like to be there as one of these characters, preparing to make a choice like the one they end up making. So we use the classic bank heist tropes, but also wanted to create some question marks that pay off what is actually going on here – a protest instead of a heist. So the line about “no masks” was important. The biggest thing for me in this scene was using the car to create a kind of pressure cooker. Using the actual barrier of the car, the inside world vs the outside world, how someone walking by stops them for a moment, and giving them each a little story in the car with some personal actions. All of it being in service to setting up that suspense.
The story is set in Russia, but its message resonates globally. How did you approach creating a narrative that balances a specific setting with universal themes?
I think you’re always in search of finding the balance between simple and personal. The film itself is quite simple on the surface, but peppered with a lot of careful personal details. These details came out of that question – how would it feel like for us to be in their position? Do we hesitate before speaking out? Do we want our faces to be seen by the world? How angry are we at this system for keeping us silent? When something is personal enough, specific enough, then I believe it crosses that imaginary threshold where suddenly it speaks to people more broadly. I especially wanted to make this something that can speak to the world in its current political situation, which is more than a little scary at the moment.
The Robbery is described as a film for Amnesty International. How did their mission influence the story and its execution?
Amnesty International and the agency La Despensa had the main structure and main conceit of the film solved when they came to us. It immediately lit a fire inside me when I saw what they were trying to do and I knew what we could make this film into pretty quickly. I rewrote the script and fleshed out details, characters, the ending, and just made it a bit more personal to how I felt about this scene and situation. But I’ve never been given so much control, freedom, and trust from anyone before, so what was really beautiful about this process was – we just made a film like we would have ourselves.
The film is dedicated to your Ukrainian and Russian friends affected by the war. How did their experiences shape the emotional tone and themes of the project?
The December before the war broke out I had the opportunity to visit Ukraine for the first time. It was an incredibly strange, stressful, and oddly beautiful atmosphere but I remember all of the conversations we had with people there. How they had been living in war-time since the Crimea annexation. What they thought about the current moment. How they felt. When full-scale war eventually broke out I remember how viscerally angry I was, for a long time. The powerlessness of it all. Many of my close childhood friends back in Toronto are Ukrainian as well. I couldn’t help but view it through their eyes. I’m neither Ukrainian nor Russian and so I knew I didn’t want to speak for them in ways that felt inauthentic. But I knew I wanted to inject, to the best of my abilities, all of their collective rage, grief, sadness, and emotion into this film.
The heist premise often involves complex character dynamics. How did you develop the relationships between the protagonists to heighten the drama?
One of the things I like to do is develop the history and relationships of the characters, the world, all of that. That way things feel rooted in some kind of sincerity. Hopefully you feel a sense of real history there. So I do that – build out what the relationships are between these characters, why are they each doing what they’re doing, how are they in this situation, how do they act differently than each other. For instance, I built this little dynamic for myself that the “Driver”, Gregory, felt personally responsible for the Backseat passenger, Sam, and so he’d be a bit more timid and quiet. And in the ending, Gregory moves between the Russian police and Sam to protect him before he gets the baton to the stomach. Little things like that. Where the woman, Alexandra, takes off her wedding ring so that the police won’t steal it from her once she’s arrested, because they all know that they will be arrested.
What role does symbolism play in the film, especially considering the political and social undertones connected to the war?
We kept things pretty lean on this one. Quite direct. But if anything, that last line from the driver when he’s pinned down by the police is a moment I wanted to speak to two different stories simultaneously – the one on screen and the many other stories hitting different countries today.
Can you talk about the visual style of the film? How did you use cinematography and production design to reflect the tension and themes of the narrative?
I wanted to play this film very straight. It’s stripped down, simple, rough, and avoids any visual embellishments. Carlos, the DP on the film, we both talked a lot about the tone and how it should move and feel. For me, I paid much more attention to how this needed to move. We knew right away we were shooting on 35mm film and it was handheld. So once you set that base, most of the nuance of the visuals comes down to how does this move and where does the camera need/want to be in these scenes. Because I knew it needed to be voyeuristic with a messy raw energy. The car scene was very deliberate for example. The way we flow between the characters and what they’re doing personally. How we use the exterior space of the car vs the interior space of the car. To me the camera always needed a strong perspective and to be anchored to a character. The design of the film was always staying authentic to where we were in the world of the film. Being true to the Russian setting. How the cars needed to be vinyled. How the Russian riot police needed to be dressed. Even to where we shot in Madrid, the building / bank and street we chose was very deliberate to reflect the right setting.
Music and sound design are crucial in building suspense. How did you use these elements to elevate the emotional and dramatic stakes of the film?
Sound is always right in the forefront of my brain whenever making something. It’s never an afterthought. We very deliberately built out these soundscapes to the point where the radio that is playing in Russian is talking about the trial of Alexei Gorinov, one of the two real Russian activists we highlight in the end. My sound designer, Nikolay Antonov is pretty brilliant at bringing things to life. And when working with music, Philip Calisto, our composer, brought another layer to this film with his music. Using ominous hidden vocals that have a chilling effect. And further building up the choice of taking action and leaving the car. The whole film to me is about consequences so I always thought of this film as having two parts – building up courage to make a choice, and the inevitable consequences that are to come. Sound and music were in service of this thinking.
How did working on a project tied to such a sensitive and urgent real-world issue impact your creative process and storytelling choices?
This story is affecting real people and real lives so for myself and the whole crew and cast we knew the importance of this film. I try to distill a film into a simple statement and throughline so it’s easily brokendown. With this you just check yourself constantly, what is important, who is this for, why is this right and that is wrong? The process is the same as with other things, but you really feel the weight. If anything it drove us all to make sure we stayed true to what is in front of the camera at all times.
What do you hope audiences will take away from The Robbery, especially regarding the current conflict and Amnesty International’s advocacy work?
People need to care. It’s that simple because it’s so easy for us to not. With time things can easily just melt away and be forgotten. We do it all the time. I hope that for those who have let this war and other things slip from memory, it acts as a shock to their system. A driving question that was in my mind while making this film was, “Could I have the same courage these activists have and do what they have done?” I honestly dont know. And I wanted the audience to be thinking the same thing.
What are the books, podcasts or even YouTube Channel that you recommend young filmmakers to get their hands on?
Hmm. One book that changed my outlook on life is a book by Bell Hooks called, All About Love. You can probably guess that it’s a book that discusses everything about love itself, and I think for a western audience it can be quite a powerful read. If I could instead recommend some other things I’d say The Last of Us, we all know the show but the games and especially The Last Of Us Part II is, in my opinion, one of the most important stories told in the medium of gaming and interactive storytelling. It’s also all about the cycle of violence. And then there’s Attack on Titan. Which is absolutely brilliant and you know it’s good when Alex Garland was motivated to “write better” after watching the show. For podcasts I’m a bit of a simpleton, but I do love listening to Scriptnotes and think it’s a great tool for any filmmaker and writer.
Can you share with us some of your favorite short films you’ve seen lately?
I saw a surprising film at Hollyshorts last year that was really special called “Will You Look At Me”. It’s got an incredible tone and is somewhat hybrid with docu and fiction storytelling. I find myself more and more inspired by animation over the years so the shorts that roll over in my mind are mostly animated. “The Windshield Wiper (Watch on FS)” and “The Ice Merchants” are two films that have stuck with me and are very touching.